Teresa Cantuba has been feeding the Filipino community in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 15 years. She cooks with the same passion she brought on day one. She has never stopped showing up.
But for 15 years, her business barely moved. No growth. The same buyers, the same word of mouth, the same ceiling. Not because her food was not good. Because there was no platform to connect her to the thousands of Filipinos living just kilometers away who did not know she existed.
That is the gap that stopped Poppet Celdran in his tracks.
Celdran, a serial entrepreneur from Cebu, had spent years watching the Filipino diaspora navigate a fragmented, informal economy. Filipino sellers had exactly what buyers needed. But no structured marketplace existed to connect them, take payments, coordinate delivery, or give sellers the time back to focus on what they do best.
"Teresa has been showing up for 15 years. The problem was never her dedication. The problem was that the infrastructure to grow simply did not exist. SariKo is that infrastructure."
On April 18, 2026, Celdran soft-launched SariKo, a culturally trusted marketplace designed for Filipinos living and selling in Ho Chi Minh City. Within weeks, 19 sellers had joined the platform with zero paid marketing spend. The platform's full commercial launch is now set for June 21, 2026, coinciding with the 128th Philippine Independence Day commemoration in Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with SAPI (Samahan ng mga Pilipino), the Filipino community organization serving approximately 15,000 Filipinos in Ho Chi Minh City.
SariKo takes its name from "sari sari," the beloved Filipino neighborhood variety store, reimagined for the digital diaspora. Payments, buyer-seller chat, and delivery are fully integrated, giving sellers like Teresa the freedom to take more orders and devote more time to production rather than logistics.
"This is not just commerce. Every transaction on SariKo is an act of cultural preservation. When a Filipino in Vietnam buys longganisa from a seller they trust, they are keeping something alive."
Celdran is no stranger to building from the ground up. A three-time founder who began his career as a journalist for Sun*Star in Cebu, he is an alumnus of Antler Vietnam, Bridge for Billions, and Founder Institute Vietnam 2025. His previous startup Zen Wellness was named a Top 50 startup at Vietnam's Startup Wheel in 2022.
SariKo is backed by an advisory board that brings together trade expertise, community leadership, and academic depth. Dr. Beth C. Candol, President of SAPI and a Doctor of Philosophy, brings the full weight of the Filipino community organization in Ho Chi Minh City to the platform. Rico Mariano, a Foreign Trade Service Officer of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry based in Vietnam, contributes government trade expertise and institutional networks critical to SariKo's commercial expansion. Mr. Tin Anadilla, Secretary of SAPI and a founding investor in SariKo, bridges community trust with early capital commitment.
Filipino sellers and buyers in Ho Chi Minh City can join the platform at www.sariko.store. Follow SariKo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sarisarikoto.
For investors interested in the SariKo Founders Circle, visit founders.sariko.store.
SariKo, the Filipino diaspora marketplace operating in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has opened a $750,000 pre seed investment round on a Simple Agreement for Future Equity at a $10 million valuation cap and a 20 percent discount.
The round is structured to fund 18 months of runway from April 2026 through October 2027, covering engineering and product development, go to market expansion, seller acquisition, and legal and operational compliance.
Founded by Poppet Celdran, a Cebuano serial entrepreneur based in Ho Chi Minh City, SariKo soft-launched on April 18, 2026, and has since onboarded 19 sellers with zero paid marketing spend. The platform's full commercial launch is set for June 21, 2026, to coincide with the 128th Philippine Independence Day commemoration in Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with SAPI (Samahan ng mga Pilipino), the Filipino community organization in the city.
"The traction we have built before a single marketing peso was spent tells us the demand is real. Now we are raising the capital to build the infrastructure that serves it properly."
SariKo is Node 1 of Pangea, a replicable diaspora commerce platform designed to expand city by city across a global diaspora population of 280 million people. The platform addresses a total addressable market estimated at $840 billion, based on 280 million diaspora consumers spending an average of $3,000 annually on community commerce.
The company generates revenue through six streams: commissions on transactions, seller subscription tiers, featured listings, City License fees for node operators, gross merchandise value royalties, and advertising and data services.
The City License model allows third party operators, including diaspora associations, community organizations, and local entrepreneurs, to license SariKo infrastructure and launch their own diaspora commerce node in any city for a flat fee of $25,000 plus tiered gross merchandise value royalties. Operators pay to replicate the model, validating both product and demand without requiring SariKo to manage every market directly.
Capital allocation for the current round is structured as 55 percent toward engineering and product development, 25 percent toward go to market and seller acquisition, and 20 percent toward operations and legal compliance.
Celdran is an alumnus of Antler Vietnam, Bridge for Billions, and Founder Institute Vietnam 2025. His previous startup Zen Wellness was named a Top 50 startup at Vietnam's Startup Wheel in 2022, and his AI company BridgeAI was recognized in the ITEC 2025 Top 50 Startups.
SariKo is advised by a board that combines government trade expertise, community leadership, and academic standing. Rico Mariano, a Foreign Trade Service Officer of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry in Vietnam, provides bilateral trade and regulatory guidance. Dr. Beth C. Candol, President of SAPI and a Doctor of Philosophy, leads institutional community engagement. Mr. Tin Anadilla, Secretary of SAPI and a founding investor, anchors the platform's community trust from the ground up.
The company is also running a parallel Founders Circle raise of $50,000, open to community and diaspora investors at a 20 percent discount on the same terms. Founders Circle investors gain early access, direct founder relationship, and recognition as founding backers of the platform.
Qualified investors can access the SariKo investor portal and pitch materials at founders.sariko.store. For platform information, visit www.sariko.store. Follow SariKo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sarisarikoto.
When SariKo launched quietly on April 18, 2026, its founder made a deliberate decision: no paid ads, no boosted posts, no marketing budget. Only word of mouth among the Filipino community in Ho Chi Minh City.
In the weeks since, 19 sellers have joined the platform.
For Poppet Celdran, CEO and Founder of SariKo, that number is more than a metric. It is proof that the Filipino community abroad has been waiting for exactly this.
"Every seller who joined us did so because someone in their community told them about us. That is the most honest signal a marketplace can get. The community is pulling the product forward."
SariKo is the first structured online marketplace designed specifically for Filipinos living in Ho Chi Minh City, connecting Filipino sellers with the approximately 15,000 Filipinos in the city, according to SAPI (Samahan ng mga Pilipino). Payments, buyer-seller chat, and delivery coordination are fully integrated, giving sellers the infrastructure to scale rather than simply survive.
The platform's full commercial launch is set for June 21, 2026, timed to coincide with the 128th Philippine Independence Day commemoration in Ho Chi Minh City. The launch is being organized in collaboration with SAPI, the Filipino community organization in the city, making the event both a commercial milestone and a community celebration.
Among the founding sellers is Teresa Cantuba of Lutong Quezon, who has been cooking for the Filipino community in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 15 years. Her dedication was never in question. What was missing was a platform that could connect her to buyers beyond her immediate circle, process payments without friction, and coordinate delivery so she could put that time back into cooking. SariKo gives her all three.
Joining Teresa are Finez Tidera, Gladz Byko, Elvira of LV's Imported Dry Goods with more than 77 products and 2,200 Facebook followers, Vikki Nguyen of PinoyQ Filipino BBQ, and Ara Prociano of Wand RestoBar.
Each Founding Seller received an onboarding offer exclusive to the first 50 sellers: three months of subscription service free of charge, plus direct access to the founding team and dedicated support.
The platform is backed by an advisory board rooted in the community it serves. Dr. Beth C. Candol, President of SAPI and a Doctor of Philosophy, advises on community partnerships and institutional engagement. Mr. Tin Anadilla, Secretary of SAPI and a founding investor in SariKo, brings community leadership and early financial conviction. Rico Mariano, a Foreign Trade Service Officer of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry based in Vietnam, provides trade expertise and government networks that strengthen SariKo's long-term commercial foundation.
"We did not build this for the metrics. We built this because Filipinos abroad deserve a marketplace that understands them. That they are joining us before we have even fully launched tells us we got that right."
Sellers interested in joining the platform can register at www.sariko.store. Follow SariKo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sarisarikoto.
For investors interested in the SariKo Founders Circle, visit founders.sariko.store.
SariKo started with one city, one community, and one seller who had been showing up for 15 years without a way to grow. It is being built for 280 million.
SariKo, the Filipino diaspora marketplace that soft-launched in Ho Chi Minh City on April 18, 2026, is Node 1 of Pangea: a global diaspora commerce platform designed to replicate, city by city, across every major diaspora community on earth. Its full commercial launch is set for June 21, 2026, timed to coincide with the 128th Philippine Independence Day commemoration in Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with SAPI (Samahan ng mga Pilipino), the Filipino community organization in the city.
The vision is not modest. With 280 million people living outside their home countries and an estimated $840 billion in annual community commerce spending, founder Poppet Celdran believes diaspora commerce is one of the most underserved markets in the global economy. SariKo is his answer.
"Every diaspora city in the world has Filipino sellers, Korean sellers, Indian sellers, and Vietnamese sellers operating in the informal economy with no infrastructure beneath them. Pangea is the infrastructure. SariKo is the first node. We are proving the model in Ho Chi Minh City so we can replicate it everywhere else."
The replication mechanism is the City License model. Third party operators, including diaspora associations, community organizations, and local entrepreneurs, can license the SariKo infrastructure to launch their own diaspora commerce node in any city. Each license carries a flat fee of $25,000 plus tiered gross merchandise value royalties, creating a non dilutive revenue stream for SariKo while distributing operational responsibility to local operators who understand their communities best.
The planned rollout begins in Ho Chi Minh City with 10 diaspora communities operating under one platform: Filipino (live), Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, French, American, British and Australian, Russian, and the historic Cholon Chinese community. The combined expat and diaspora population across these 10 communities in Ho Chi Minh City exceeds 250,000 people. The headline for the expansion phase is precise: one city, ten diasporas.
Beyond Ho Chi Minh City, Celdran has mapped the next nodes in the Pangea network: QueToi Seoul, a Vietnamese commerce platform for the Vietnamese diaspora in South Korea, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Dubai, and Gulf cities beyond. Each node follows the same infrastructure, the same model, and the same City License framework.
Alongside the Filipino platform, SariKo is co-launching QueToi, an indigenous Vietnamese commerce layer connecting local artisan designers, fusion restaurateurs, and home goods producers with the growing international community across its diaspora nodes.
Since its quiet soft launch, SariKo has onboarded 19 sellers with zero paid marketing spend. The platform is backed by an advisory board that brings together trade expertise, community leadership, and academic credibility: Rico Mariano, Foreign Trade Service Officer of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry in Vietnam; Dr. Beth C. Candol, President of SAPI and Doctor of Philosophy; and Mr. Tin Anadilla, Secretary of SAPI and a founding investor in the platform.
SariKo is currently raising $750,000 in a pre seed SAFE round at a $10 million valuation cap to fund engineering, go to market expansion, and the legal infrastructure needed to scale across multiple jurisdictions. A parallel Founders Circle raise of $50,000 is open to community and diaspora investors at a 20 percent discount.
"I was born in Cebu. I have lived this story. I know what it means to leave home and still want to stay connected to it. That is why I believe I was born to build this."
Qualified investors can access the SariKo investor portal at founders.sariko.store. For platform information, visit www.sariko.store. Follow SariKo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sarisarikoto.